At the E3 conference, Sony has disclosed more details on the upcoming PlayStation 3, and one of those is that the console will be using a controller design with a form factor quite similar to the PlayStation 1 (and 2). Great! None of that boomerang/batman-type controller crap that many loved to hate!
Some comments at ForeverGeek:
The controller is now lighter and wireless and uses Bluetooth to communicate with the console, but, it has the option of connecting to the PS3 via USB (thank God they didn’t make another proprietary port) and also recharges with it. After the positive feedback that Nintendo got after they unveiled their controller Sony decided to do something similar for their Dualshock and added a similar function to their controller. Though it isn’t a full 3D sensor, it can sense tilting and is adequate for games in which you drive or pilot a flying ship (as demonstrated in the Warhawk playable demo).
Great. So the PS3’s controller will have trigger-like L2 and R2 buttons (great for first person shooters), and a tilt-sensor. The controller reportedly has a batter life of 24 hours–much less than the Xbox 360’s 300 or so hours, but this is because Sony will be using Bluetooth 2.0 EDR, instead of 2.4GHz RF. A concession: you can hot-plug the controller via USB to charge, and still continue playing, with the controller on wired mode.
Gripes notwithstanding, I think it’s great Sony went for a more “conventional” form factor.